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CULINARY INSTITUTE 03.
WHEN: WHERE:
November 2021
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Downtown Mall Charlottesville, VA
The culinary institute intends to serve as a public center to learn, create, and consume farm-to-table meals sourced from the regional Charlottesville area and the rooftop garden. The Downtown Mall serves as outdoor, pedestrian space with a variety of activities, including art galleries, theaters, and local shops. With the rise of privatization on the downtown mall, the culinary institute hopes to foster a sense of community and collaboration. Aiming to provide local ingredients to the culinary teaching studio and restaurant, vegetation plantings are situated throughout. Horizontally shifting on each floor allows for moments of cantilevers extending into the downtown mall and towards Third Street. The extensive wall of glass from the east encourages to energize the side street by placing the main entryway, while southern light is minimized with horizontal wood slats. By encroaching on the the side street of the Downtown Mall, the design intends to encourage both indoor and outdoor public activity through a variety of gathering and seating opportunities while maintaining adequate walking space. The extension also enables various forms of circulation and spaces for observation overlooking Charlottesville.
Perspective Section
Programatically, the first-floor lobby leads to an amphitheater-style seating area that can be used as an educational lecture space, or a comfortable area to read from the book wall. Moving to the second floor, the double-story space is the main culinary space, arranged with a series of cooking stations. One can access this space by the arrangement of staircases and mimics the cascading facade.
By positioning this culinary space towards the mall, support spaces including restrooms and a cozy hostel room cantilever over a neighboring structure. The third floor serves a dining experience, with indoor and outdoor seating options. The curvature extends to the rooftop, where more amphitheater-style steps lead to a rooftop garden that promotes urban agriculture and communal interactions used by space, and the greater Charlottesville community.
